When Things Go Wrong
by EC-Chan
Summary: In mirai Trunks's timeline, the androids took Pan and raised her as their own child. What will happen to her when she finds out about her past? MB/MG, possible MT/MP;;
1. Family

"Videl

Title: When Things Go Wrong

Author: Evil Child

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ, but I do own Bob the Macaroni Penguin.

AN: This is set in Mirai Trunks' timeline. Pan is only four years younger then Trunks, because Gohan met Videl when he was fourteen…and Videl had Pan when she was 18.

***

"Videl?" Gohan grabbed the nearest woman with a bundle in her arms, turning her around to only see that it wasn't her. Pushing her away a bit roughly, he continued his search through Saatan City.

She has to be her somewhere, he thought, trying to encourage himself. But the chances of finding Videl and Pan in time were very slim. How had they known about them? He cursed himself under his breath. He had managed to keep them both a secret for so long! Not even telling his own mother! How had they managed to find out that Videl was his lover and Pan his daughter?

***

A voice behind her laughed, sardonically. "Here she is 17," 18 shook her head in contempt. "She even was foolish enough to keep the child with her!"

"At least we don't have to look for the child too," 17 laughed, and then addressed Videl. "Do you realize how foolish the two of you have been?"

Videl's mind raced. How could she get away from them? She had never fought them herself of course, but she had heard enough about how strong they are from Gohan that she knew it was a miracle that he is still alive!

"Gohan really should have hid the two of you better," 18 told her, giving Videl another look of pure hatred.

"What makes you so sure that this Gohan has any reason to hide me?" Videl asked, trying to figure out how much the androids exactly knew. That and she was buying time- trying to figure out a way to get Panny away from this mess.

"Gohan told us of course," 17 snorted. "How else would we know?"

"Liar," Videl said. There was no way Gohan would ever tell these androids anything about her or Pan. He'd die before he told them anything!

"You don't believe me?" 17 asked, his eyebrow raising slightly. "We killed him, didn't we 18?"

"He was groveling like a baby," 18 added. "He'd have done anything for us to spare his life."

"He would never grovel," Videl spat, before she could help herself.

"Ah, so it is true," 18 shook her head. "I didn't think that even Gohan would be stupid enough to have a child when he was having a hard enough time staying alive himself."

"Bitch!" Videl screamed, but she was unable to do anything because of the little bundle she held in her arms. The baby cooed, and let out a giggle. Videl didn't bother to shush her.

"What did you call me?" 18 asked, glaring at Videl.

"…"

"I'll teach you some manners," 18 said, and with one swift kick, Videl was laying on the ground. The baby had been thrown out of her mother's protective arms, and landed on the road about two meters away. It was all over in an instant, and ended in Videl scrambling across the road, trying to get to her baby.

17 stood in her way, silently staring at her as if she were a mere spec on the road. Videl growled under her breath, knowing that no matter what she had to get her baby. With one swift movement, she jumped through the air towards the android and promptly found herself flying in the opposite direction. She hadn't even seen what exactly happened.

This time she was unable to get up from her sprawled position. She had landed on a pile of rubble, her foot twisted in an odd angle. She could have almost swore that she heard a snap from her back when she landed, though she couldn't be sure what happened because her whole body was wrenched in pain, making it hard to distinguish what was broken and what wasn't. Ignoring the pain, she flipped over onto her stomach and began to crawl towards the two androids.

"Pathetic," 18 shook her head in disgust. 17 nodded his agreement nonchalantly.

Videl saw 18 advance towards her through unfocused eyes. She tried yet again to stand up, but her efforts proved to be fruitless, and the pain only intensified. 

She managed to pull herself up into a sitting position anyway, though she was a bit wobbly. And then 18 was there, standing in front of her, telling her that it wouldn't hurt that much- the words that any true warrior heard often, but never truly believed. This time wasn't an exception- it would hurt. A lot. Videl was sure of that.

"Please," She said. 18 paused, obviously thinking that Videl was about to plead for her life, which she would have found very amusing. "Please don't hurt Panny."

A smile tugged at the corner of 18's lips. "We'll see," She promised, and then laughed. "But you, I'm afraid, have no chance."

17 chuckled in the background, and picked up the baby. "Pan!" Videl shrieked, trying to get up for the last time. She saw through the corner of her eye the last fatal blow, which would end her life: it came as a relief.

***

"What should we do with her?" 18 asked, staring at the baby in mild disgust. They had taken her to their house, unable to think of what else to do. There was really no point of killing the child when she could prove to be useful in the future.

17 stared at the baby from across the table intently. He seemed to be trying to figure the child out. 18 shook her head in disgust. "17, what are you doing?"

"Why is she staring at me like that?" 17 asked, and 18 almost laughed. Her brother could be so incredibly dimwitted sometimes.

"She's a baby! She doesn't know what she's doing!" 18 said angrily. "Now tell me what we're going to do with her. She could be more trouble then she's worth!"

"What was her name again?" 17 asked, ignoring 18's irritation. "Panny?"

"I think it was just Pan," 18 said, giving the child a good look. "She has a tail." It was only a comment really. Neither had noticed it until now- in fact they hadn't really seen much of her in the dirty cloth's the girl's mother wrapped around her. "Should I cut it off?"

"No, leave it," 17 said. "It doesn't do any harm."

"What are we going to do with her?"

"How much trouble can she be?" 17 asked, and 18 shrugged. Neither knew what they were getting themselves into.

***

Dead. Videl was dead. Her skull was shattered- something that the androids had done just to plague Gohan's nightmares, he was sure. She had been left to lay in her own blood, her leg twisted in an odd angle, various bruises adding to her broken state.

Pan was nowhere to be seen, and Gohan didn't have the heart to look much further. What could these cruel, heartless androids not prove capable of doing? He didn't want to know what they had done to his daughter. So he didn't bother looking.

*** Ten Years Later ***

"Pan!" 18 screamed. Pan looked up from her training. 18 stood in front of her, looking at her through angry eyes. That's how Pan knew that she was in a lot of trouble this time, though she wasn't exactly sure what she had done.

"18?" Pan asked, standing still and impassive. She had learned from experience to wait and see what 18 would accuse her of doing and then retaliate, while keeping her face passive the whole time. 

If she didn't follow this procedure she could very quickly find herself on the ground with a bloody nose or some other injury. 18 never bothered to control her temper very well around Pan, especially if 17 was nowhere to be found.

"Why didn't you tell me that 17 left?" She asked angrily. "And where did he go?"

"17 left?" Pan asked, a bit shocked. He never went anywhere without 18! No wonder she was upset.

"Yes," 18 said, glaring at Pan. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Are you sure he left?" Pan asked, not understanding why he would do this after all these years of them being together.

"Of course I'm sure!" 18 shrieked and pounced on Pan. Pan didn't even bother to defend herself. She knew that 18 wouldn't hurt her when she was like this…she wasn't even powered up. "Tell me where he is!" She said, after pinning Pan to the ground.

"I'm not sure," Pan said, shrugging. "Do you want me to go look for him or something?"

18 growled, but jumped off of Pan. "Why do you think that you can find him?" she asked suspiciously.

"He's probably just off killing a few people," Pan shrugged. "It shouldn't be that hard to find him."

"I can find him," 18 spat, and jumped into the air. Pan shook her head when 18 was out of sight. 18 just got crazier and crazier every time Pan saw her. She didn't want to know what 18 would do to 17 when she found him. With a sigh, she went back to her training, wishing 17 was here to help her.

***

"I'm coming too!" Trunks said angrily. Gohan merely stared at the fourteen year-old boy in front of him.

Gohan knew only one thing: if Trunks went with Gohan, he would die. It was as simply as that, and Gohan couldn't let that happen. What would Earth do without at least one fighter to protect it?

Trunks would get stronger as time progressed, of course, but it wasn't time for him to make his last stand against the androids: it was Gohan's time. There was no way that Gohan could explain that to Trunks: he wouldn't understand…hell he might never understand.

"Okay," Gohan said with false cheerfulness. The happiness that spread across Trunks' face was almost too much to bear. With one swift stroke, Gohan ended the happiness, and Trunks lay on the ground, unconscious. "I'm sorry Trunks."

***

"You were going to fight Gohan without me?" 18 shrieked at her brother. She had found him killing a bunch people as Pan had predicted, but he had proceeded to tell 18 that it was a trap for Gohan.

To calm herself down, 18 began firing ki blast at the people as well, and continued to argue with her brother.

"Actually, I was hoping that you would get here in time," 17 shrugged. "I just didn't want Pan to come."

"And why shouldn't she be here?" 18 asked, angrily.

"Because then Gohan will tell her, her true identity," 17 said as if it were obvious. "We can't let that happen- we don't know what she'll do."

"She won't hurt us," 18 snorted. "She wouldn't dare."

"She's stronger then me 18," 17 said, sulkingly. "I can't be sure what she'll do, so I don't want to reveal to her anything about her heritage."

"You already told her that she is a Saiyan," 18 pointed out.

"She had to know that," 17 replied.

***

"Who had to know what?" Gohan asked. He had come in time to hear 17's last comment, which confused him. Who could the android be talking about?

17 looked uncomfortable, "Pan."

Gohan's eyes widened in disbelief, not daring to believe what 17 had just implied. It had been ten years…could she have been alive the whole time? With a sickening feeling he realized that it must be true.

Before he could help himself he jumped into the air and attacked 17, turning into a Super Saiyan instantaneously. He attacked in a blind rage, thinking only of the daughter he had lost so long ago, and just found out that she was still alive. "I'll kill you!" He never said those words with such venom before in his life.

***

"17!" 18 shouted, watching desperately as her brother tried blocking Gohan's angry shots. Gohan was glowing more brightly then ever in his "blonde" form. His power continued to increase, and 17 was unable to block many of his attacks now.

With one last shout, Gohan changed into another form, right in front of 18's shocked eyes. There was no way he could be stronger then her brother! But there he was, glowing in a new "blonde" form, his rage still giving him even more power.

"17!" She shouted again, knowing that no matter what, she had to save her brother. She jumped into the air, and tried to attack Gohan, only to fail miserably. She ended up on the ground, in the midst of rubble, trying to figure out why this scene seemed so familiar to her.

"That girl," 18 shook her head. She had killed Gohan's lover when she was in a pile of rubble, could she meet the same death as that girl had? Trying to get up, she realized that her leg was broken. It was exactly what had happened to that girl…

Grinding her teeth she stood up, unwilling to die without a fight, and flew back upwards to Gohan and her brother's battle.

***

As soon as Trunks had woken up with a pounding headache he had known what had happened. Gohan had lied to him- told Trunks that he could fight, and then Gohan had knocked him out.

Trunks didn't want to know what had happened to Gohan. He only had one arm to fight with after all, and when he had two he couldn't take on both androids together. Fearing the worst, Trunks flew towards the direction where the battle should have been.

***

Pan felt a ki flair up all of a sudden and noticed that not only was it higher then 18 and 17's ki put together, but it was strangely familiar. Without hesitation she jumped into the air and headed towards 17 and 18's ki signature. They would definitely need her help.

***

"18," 17 grinded his teeth when he saw her fall to the ground a second time. It was no use- this newly enraged Gohan was too much for both of them. He cursed himself for telling Gohan about Pan- if he hadn't then this battle would have been over already and Gohan would be dead.

Gohan didn't say anything, but attacked unrelentingly. It was only a matter of time before 17 was finished- they both knew that. Gohan would more then likely kill him and 18 without a second thought. They had killed Gohan's lover after all.

"Get away from 17," She had come out of nowhere, and 17 winced. Pan's leg lashed out, and to 17's amazement she made contact with a stunned Gohan.

"Pan," 17 said, hugging the girl in his relief.

"Are you okay?" She asked, concern for 17 etched into her voice. She glared at the startled man.

"P-pan?" he asked, his voice shaking.

"Get away from here Pan," 17 said, knowing what he had to do. Pan couldn't fight her father…it would ruin the poor girl's life when 17 had to eventually tell her who the man was. "Take 18 with you."

"18's not going anywhere," a new voice added to the conversation. 17 looked down and to his amazement the boy 18 had nearly killed the other day was now standing over 18, pinning her to the ground. Gohan must have done more damage to her then 17 had thought.

"Get away from her!" Pan was on the ground in one swift movement, and in another the boy was flying through the air backwards, away from 18. "Both of you, stay away from them!" She shouted, glaring up at Gohan.

17 let himself sink to the ground, and Gohan followed suit. Pan stood in between Gohan and the two people who had raised her. 17 cringed as he looked down at 18's bloodied face and broken leg.

"Why are you doing this?" Gohan asked her.

"Doing what?"

"Protecting _them_!" Gohan shouted.

"They're my family," Pan said as if it were obvious. Gohan paled, and the boy looked slightly disgusted.

"Gohan-," the boy started to say, but Gohan silenced him with a wave of his hand.

"Did they tell you who you are?" Gohan asked, glaring at 17. "Did they tell you that they killed your mother?"

"Pan," 17 said, and the girl turned her head slightly around to stare at 17 in confusion. "He's right, you know."

18 stared at 17 through unfocused eyes and sighed. "Gohan is telling the truth, Pan."

"You killed my mother," Pan snorted. "I don't believe it!"

"I killed her," 18 said, her voice unwavering. "It didn't take much…"

"You said-," Pan looked at them in confusion.

"It took only one blow…I miscalculated, her head was bashed in," 18 shivered. "You were there…we didn't know what to do, so we took you in, and raised you."

"It's been ten years," 17 reminded her. "We didn't tell you because we were afraid that you would leave us and join Gohan…you're stronger then me you know."

Pan stared at them, her eyes widened. "It's not true!" She whispered. "You wouldn't have killed my mother…"

"Listen to me Pan," Gohan broke into the conversation. "I found her lying her own blood, head smashed in, broken leg. I remember every detail of that scene. I didn't look for you, because I didn't want to see what these cruel, heartless androids would do to a baby…I should have looked, I shouldn't have given up so easily. But all these years I thought that you were dead…"

"You shouldn't be here, Pan," 17 said. "Let him kill us, we don't deserve your help."

Pan stared at the four people around her in utter confusion. The boy looked almost as confused as her, which was a small relief. 17 and 18 looked slightly worried, and the man in front of her was staring at the 17 and 18 in disgust.

"Who are you?" Pan asked Gohan, afraid what he might say. "And why do you care whether I know about my mother's death or not?"

"I'm your father Pan," Pan felt a sinking feeling in her heart, and saw the boy's jaw drop. "Videl and I were young…we didn't know what we were doing," Gohan sighed. "It had only been four years after the androids came, and we didn't know how to hide the two of you. I'm still not sure how the androids found out."

Pan wanted to run. She wanted to get away from this situation- she didn't know what to do. If she left this man would kill 17 and 18, but if she stayed then she would have to kill the man who claimed to be her father.

"Leave Pan," 17 told her. "It'll be easier for you- I didn't want you here for that reason."

"You were going to kill him," She said accusingly.

"He's been attacking me since day one," 17 said. "What was I supposed to do? Let him kill me?"

"He's been attacking innocent people since day one," the man snorted.

Pan bit her lip. This man wasn't helping, being so against 18 and 17. But what could she do? Ask for them not to hurt each other? The whole situation was impossible!

"You know what?" Pan asked angrily. "Screw the whole thing. You can all go to hell!" With a burst of speed, Pan was flying through the air, away from the whole situation.

***

"Gohan?" Trunks asked. Gohan was staring after the girl, unmovingly. "What was that?"

"I'll explain later Trunks," Gohan said. "Can you go get her for me?"

"Um…sure," Trunks agreed uneasily. Who was this girl exactly? And what if he couldn't find her? He wasn't too concerned by her fighting abilities, however. The only reason she was able to hit him the first time was because she had taken him by surprise. He jumped into the air, and after a moment's pause and wondered if Gohan would finally kill the androids.

***

Without hesitation 17 jumped towards Gohan, throwing a wild punch that he hoped would manage to land on Gohan's head. He found himself flying through the air in the opposite direction, without really understanding how it had happened.

This must have been how that woman felt when he had thrown her through the air. He didn't want to think about it but he knew that they were both getting what they deserved.

"You killed Videl," Gohan said, ignoring me and was now facing a battered 18. She stared up at him through bloodied eyes, not bothering to defend herself. 17 had seen the same thing happen to the woman…Videl.

Gohan made a small ki blast, and threw it at the unprotected android. 17's eyes widened in horror as he saw the blast destroy his sister, who didn't even bother to protect herself from it. "18!" 17 screamed, watching as his sister fell to the ground, never to get up again.

"Do you like how it feels?" Gohan asked 17 quietly. 17 shook his head slowly. "Then you understand why I can never forgive you."

He said it quietly, anger completely absent from his voice. 17 nodded and watched helplessly as Gohan moved forward with lightening quick speed, and brought his hand down onto 17's head, splitting it open in one thwack.

He fell to the ground by his sister, wondering how Pan would take their deaths.

***

Gohan stood by both android's broken bodies, staring at them unemotionally. Why had he killed them? His father wouldn't have, but he did. Pan had been happy with them: they had been the replacements for her mother and father. He had seen how willingly she had protected them, and he had killed them anyways.

But how could he have spared them? Not only had they killed Videl and the rest of the Z warriors. Not only had they taken away his only child and raised her like their own. But they killed for the pleasure of it, destroying innocent bystanders that shouldn't have been hurt. How could he have spared them when they had done all of that?

***

She was sitting on a rock, crying, when he found her. She seemed to be able sense ki readings, because as soon as he stopped flying, landing beside her, she straigtened.

"What did they do to you?" She asked, her voice livid. "Did they kill your mother too?"

"My father," Trunks told her. She sighed.

"Is that why he killed them?" startled, Trunks searched for Gohan's ki, and realized that the girl was right- the androids were dead.

"They killed a lot of innocent people," Trunks told her, not knowing whether this would comfort the girl or not. "If Gohan didn't kill them, then they would have killed somebody else."

She said nothing for a moment. "They might have stopped."

"I doubt it," Trunks said. There was another long pause.

"I'm not going with you," she said. "I don't care who he claims to be."

"You can't stay here," Trunks said.

"Why not?"

"At least stay with my mother and me," Trunks suggested. "You don't have to see Gohan if you don't want to but if he _is_ your father then you might as well come and my mom will explain to you about the Saiyan raise."

***

He said the _Saiyan_ race. Pan's heart skipped a beat. How could he possibly know that name if he wasn't who he said he was?

"You're a Saiyan?" she asked cautiously.

"Half," he told her. "You're a fourth if what Gohan said was true."

Pan uncurled her tail and Trunks gasped. "17 told me that I was a Saiyan."

"You still have a tail," Trunks shook his head. "I would have thought they would have cut it off."

"It doesn't do any harm," Pan repeated what 17 had told her when she had asked the same question. Trunks shrugged.

"So…are you coming?"

"I suppose so," Pan said.

***

"Gohan?" Bulma asked when Gohan walked through the door. She was startled when Trunks wasn't with him. "Where's Trunks?"

"Don't worry Bulma," Gohan reassured her. "He's fine."

"Where is he exactly?" Bulma asked, not reassured in the slightest.

"There's no reason to worry anymore," Gohan said, sitting down in one of the kitchen chairs, holding his head in his arms. "It's been so long…"

"You killed them?" Bulma asked a bit worried by Gohan's behavior.

"I actually wasn't expecting to live," Gohan said, staring at the wall with unfocused eyes. "Bulma…did I tell you how they killed her? How I thought they killed both of them? That was the first time I became a Super Saiyan…the day they killed Videl."

"Gohan…are you okay?" Bulma asked, definitely worried now. What had happened? And where is Trunks?

"Videl and I…we met when I saved her from the androids," Gohan sighed deeply, shaking his head. "She was trying to fight them, but I stopped her- I took her to a cave in the woods, and told her she'd be safe there. I don't know why I had done it, and was surprised when I went to the cave the next day and she was still there. She told me how they killed her father right in front of her eyes and she was only trying to avenge his death…she wanted me to train her. So I did, though I knew she'd never be strong enough to be a match for them."

"What are you saying Gohan?" Bulma asked. "Why didn't you tell me about her before now?"  
"I was fourteen at the time. We spent four years of our life together- our friendship grew to something more," Gohan sighed. "She got pregnant, and we worried about what we were going to do. It was insane for us to have a child- we hadn't even thought about it… But we couldn't change what happened, so I continued to visit her."

"You have a child?" Bulma asked, her voice shaking.

"Eventually I had to bring her to a doctor- that's when everything began to fall apart," Gohan went on, ignoring Bulma. "We were both eighteen at the time…we didn't know how to have a baby. But when I brought them both back to the cave…she refused to stay again. I wasn't enough for her anymore, or rather she wanted the baby to have more then what we had made out of a cave. So she left…I searched for her of course, but I didn't find her…"

"Gohan," Bulma's eyes widened in disbelief as the truth of the story sunk in. He must have been seventeen when Videl became pregnant…way too young for anyone!

"I continued looking and training," Gohan went on. "But one day when I went to fight the androids, they laughed in my face and told me that they knew who I was looking for and it wasn't them. They knew about Videl and Pan. I panicked of course, and went through the town, searching for them…hoping that I wasn't too late. When I found her…she was dead."

Bulma's hands flew to her mouth when she heard the last part. Dead. They had killed her. But what had happened to the baby?

"I took one look at her, and I didn't want to look for Pan," Gohan sighed. "They really had done a number on her and her dead body still plague's my dreams… I should have looked for my daughter though. I knew I should have at the time, but I didn't want to see what the androids would prove capable of doing to a child."

"No one would have looked," Bulma tried to reassure Gohan, but he shook his head.

"If I had searched for little Panny, I wouldn't have been able to find her body…" Gohan continued to stare at the wall. "Then I would have known that she was still alive."

"What happened to her?" Bulma asked.

"The androids raised her for the last ten years…" Gohan's voice shook with rage. "I've missed ten years of my only daughter's life because of them!"

"Where is she now?" Bulma asked.

"With Trunks," Gohan sighed. "I asked him to get her and bring her here."

"Gohan…I'm so sorry things had to turn out this way," Bulma stood up and gave Gohan a stiff hug. "It wasn't supposed to happen this way."

***

Okay, I hope some people are still reading this. I don't normally make chapters this long, but this is what I wrote and I'm just curious if anyone likes it. If you don't: blah 2 u 2…but feel free to review even if you didn't like it. (in fact please tell me what's wrong with it if you don't like my story)… Thanks for reading.


	2. Enemies

Chi Chi sighed, trying not to worry about her son

***

Chapter Two: Enemies

Author: Evil Child

Disclaimer: See chapter 1.

AN: Thank-you guys for reading the first chapter. I was pleasantly surprised one day when I looked up my story and saw 13 reviews. Thanks people for reviewing ^___^.

***

Chi Chi sighed, trying not to worry about her son. It had been weeks since he had last been home, but she couldn't exactly blame him. She had been the one who had shouted…tried to force him not to fight, though she knew he had to. He had even told her that he had to fight, but she refused to listen, trying to control him like she had when he was a child.

If she could go back in time, she wouldn't have said anything at all. She would have respected his need to try and destroy the androids, and let him have a good night's sleep and a warm meal in his stomach for once.

She winced, and picked up the picture of her family, tracing Gohan's face with her index finger. Where could he possibly be? Her father had reassured her that Gohan is all right…but that had been nearly two weeks ago. A lot could have happened since then. She didn't want to think about it. If only Gokou had survived that disease…then it wouldn't be necessary for Gohan to fight.

A tear slipped down her cheek, and she knew that enough was enough. If Gohan wasn't going to come home and see her then she wouldn't wait for him: she'd go visit Bulma. He might even be there.

"Dad?" She called. When he didn't respond, Chi Chi walked into the family room, spotting her father dozing on the armchair immediately. A radio was sitting on the table by his side, on low.

Her eyes widened. He had a radio? Why hadn't he told her about it? Why hadn't he let her listen for news of Gohan on it? Growling under her breath about the indecency of it all, she picked up the radio and brought it up to her bedroom, her plans to go to Bulma's momentarily forgotten.

"-And we have just received a report that the androids' bodies have been found. It is being confirmed right now whether or not the horrible beast that have had everyone living in fear for so long are somehow inexplicably dead-."

Chi Chi's heart almost stopped. Did the announcer just say what she thought he said? The androids…dead? She turned on her heel and went back into the family room.

"DAD!" She shouted, shaking him awake. His eyes opened wearily, and he took in the scene before him. His eyes widened in surprise at the radio in Chi Chi's hand.

"T-the radio," he said, staring from it to Chi Chi, as if he were afraid what she would do to him.

"Never mind that now!" She snapped. "The androids are dead!"

"What?" The Ox-King said, his voice rising in excitement. "Are they sure?"

"They're confirming it now," Chi Chi said, and then asked in a hopeful voice. "Do you think Gohan killed them?"

"It's possible honey," The Ox-King assured her. "But we should probably find out."

"I was thinking about going to Bulma's anyway," Chi Chi nodded. 

The Ox-King gave her a reassuring smile, "Maybe Gohan's there."

***

Pan simply stared at the house the boy had led her to. She wasn't quite sure if she wanted to go in or not. The man who claimed to be her father was in there, and although the boy had promised her that she could stay with him, she wasn't sure if she wanted to trust what he said. She missed 17 already.

"Come on," the boy said. Pan watched him walk to the door, but he turned around when Pan didn't follow him. "Don't worry. Nobody's going to make you do anything."

"He killed them," Pan whispered. She still couldn't understand why they had to die. In fact if they were still alive, she wouldn't have any reason not to go into the house and find out about her heritage.

"He had too…" Trunks sighed. "Please…just give him a chance. Gohan's great…he's my friend, my master…my role model. If you really are his daughter, then I envy you…I really do. But you'll never know what he's like or if he's really your father if you don't talk to him."

Pan stared at him momentarily. He was being sincere…she could tell, and he was absolutely right. Why shouldn't she go in there and find out who she really is? And she didn't necessarily have to stay. If he tried to make her, she'd just kill him- after all he had killed 17.

"You're right of course, I'm sorry," she said, and held out her hand. "I'm Pan."

"Trunks," he said, taking her hand firmly in his own. "And you shouldn't be sorry. I just know what I'd do if I had a chance to meet my father."

She didn't say anything, but followed Trunks into the house. There wasn't anything to say. 17 and 18 had killed his father…or so Trunks had told her. If she were told the whole story and given proof of this fact, then she might apologize for 17 and 18, but she wouldn't until she was sure what exactly happened.

***

Gohan straightened when he saw her walk through the door, behind Trunks. She was eyeing him suspiciously, but he couldn't blame her. Unfortunately, the androids had done too many things to Gohan, for him to be able to see what Pan saw in them or for Gohan to even have considered sparing them.

"Hello Mom, Gohan," Trunks said, and sat down at the table between them, leaving Pan to stand by the door.

"Come sit down Pan," Bulma said, ignoring her son. "I'll make some tea for everyone."

She stood up, letting Pan take her now vacant seat. Pan gave Bulma a small smile of gratitude, and Bulma smiled back. Gohan sighed in relief. So the androids raised her decently enough. He paused to think about that statement for a moment, realizing how funny it actually was. He never thought that he would have anything good to say about them.

"Why is your hair black? I thought it was blonde…" Pan was staring at Gohan in confusion. He almost laughed. She didn't know about becoming a Super Saiyan and she thought she was strong enough to protect the androids?

"I was a Super Saiyan before…it's a transformation that all Saiyans can make," Gohan explained. "If I hadn't turned into a Super Saiyan then I wouldn't have been able to fight the androids…they would have been way too strong."

"I can't turn into a Super Saiyan and I can still keep up with 17," She replied. Gohan stared at her in amazement. It was impossible for Pan to be as strong as she just implied without turning into a Super Saiyan.

"Maybe it's different for female Saiyan," He shrugged after a moment of thought. "There's never been a female Saiyan on Earth before you, so no one would know."

"There's never been a female Saiyan on Earth before?" Pan asked, confused by Gohan's statement.

"It's very complicated," Gohan sighed. "In fact our whole history is very complicated."

Pan said nothing, as if she knew Gohan wasn't ready to explain the whole story. Bulma pulled a chair up to the table, sitting between Pan and Trunks. She turned to stare at Gohan intently, waiting for him to explain.

Gohan sighed, "Bulma- don't you have the whole story written up somewhere?"  
"I don't write Gohan," she chided him.

"Then how did you tell Trunks about the whole mess?"

"Bedtime stories," Bulma shrugged. "It's not hard when you have an extended period of time…as in fourteen years. How did you tell Videl?"

"I didn't," Gohan said bluntly. "She knew I was an alien from a different world, and that's all she wanted to know."  
"Didn't anyone write down anything?" Trunks asked.

"Chi Chi might have…she has spare time," Bulma shrugged. As if on cue, Chi Chi burst into the house.

***

Pan stared at the woman in astonishment. Her hair was drawn back into a tight bun, but in her haste to get into Trunks' house, the bun had loosened, enabling hair to fall out of it, framing her angry face. The woman's power level was weak, but one forgot about that with one look at her face- she was a woman who could terrify the toughest fighter.

"Why haven't you been home?" She screamed in Gohan's general direction, though Pan wasn't quite sure whom she was talking to. "I've been worried sick! What if they had killed you?"

"Relax," Pan soothed the woman, her tone a bit sardonic. "He managed just fine to stay alive-."

She stopped herself before she said anything else. It wasn't this man's fault that he killed them; he was supposed to kill them, they were his enemy. Everyone in the room viewed 17 and 18 as their enemy…they didn't care that they died…not the real 17 and 18 anyway, so why be bitter to their face? They would just end up hating her.

"Look here little girl," the woman turned on Pan. "I don't care who you are, but stay out of my business! This is between me and my son!"

Pan's eyes widened slightly; this was her grandmother. Or she is according to this man. Pan gave the woman a second look, seeing the mark of a fighter on her. This woman deserved to be feared.

"Mother," Gohan tried to defend himself, but she cut him off.

"Where have you been? Why did you leave me to worry about whether you're alive or dead? You know that is anything happened to you I'd have no one left!"

"You'd have me," Pan told her, and the woman turned back to face her, momentarily looking confused.

"What do you mean?" She said angrily. "Who are you?"

"Mother," Gohan tried again. "This is Pan…my daughter."

The woman looked like she was about to faint. Bulma stood up and helped her into a chair, obviously knowing what to do from experience. "D-daughter?"

"Or so he claims," Pan said. "Though he hasn't proven it yet."  
"Prove it?" Gohan stared at Pan blankly. "How could I possibly do that?"

"I don't know," Pan shrugged. "But you'll have to find out a way, because I can't forgive you-." She stopped herself again, shaking her head. The man understood though, biting his lower lip.

"Look Panny-," Pan stared at him for a second, whatever he said next lost. How had he known her nickname? 17 only used it when they were alone…there was no way he would have told this man her nickname!

"Panny?" She raised an eyebrow, pretending that the name meant nothing to her, though in actually fact it was very important what he said. She knew 17 wouldn't have told him, and 17 was careful never to use her nick name in front of 18…so she knew that 18 didn't know it.

"T-that was the nickname your mother used to call you…" Gohan winced. "Sorry…I didn't mean to-."

Pan knew that her face paled, though she tried to hide her feelings. So 17 had stolen the nickname and let her believe that it was of his own invention. She growled under her breath, regaining her self-control. If he were still alive, he would have received the beating of his life, but since he isn't…

"Pan? Are you alright?" Gohan was staring at her in concern.

"I'm fine," Pan said gruffly, and replaced the contorted look on her face with the one she used when 18 was angry with her.

"Is something wrong?"

"I said I'm fine," She growled. "Just don't call me that…"

"Why not?" Trunks asked.

"I just don't want to be called that," Pan adverted her eyes from the table. "My past is very complicated…especially after today. I may tell you some other time."

No one said anything, an awkward silence filling the room. Pan refused to turn her head to face the table.

***Flashback***

Pan ran through the forest, keeping on the lookout for 17 and 18. They had left her at home again- obviously thinking that she was either too young or too weak to go with them. But she would show them! She'd bring back one of those weak Earthlings heads, and show it to them- maybe then they'd bring her on their "vacations."

She grinned suddenly, feeling a ki near her. It was weak but she knew it was human. Yes, she'd show 18! Still grinning, she continued her fast paced towards the ki signature.

He was standing in the middle of a clearing- sword in his hand, ready to attack an invisible enemy. She stood behind a tree watching him for a moment. The man suddenly charged forward, making complicated movements with his hands as if he were really fighting someone.

"Who are you fighting?" Pan ventured into the clearing. The man stood up suddenly, turning his face towards her. She saw at once the large scar that ran down his right cheek.

"No one," the man said, turning his back to Pan. "You should leave here- the androids have been spotted around this general area."

Pan stared at the man for a moment, and then chose to ignore that comment. "Do you think that you can fight 17?"

"I have to defend my honor by taking revenge for my family," The man said, and began his sword practice again.

"You can't beat him that way," Pan told him. "Swords don't have any affect on them."  
"How do you know?"

"I've seen humans attack them with swords before."

"You saw them fight and have lived to tell about it?" The man was a bit surprised, his arm stopping in midair.

"Yes," Pan shrugged. "They won't hurt me."  
"Why not?"  
"I live with them."

The sword fell out of the man's hands, his face going pale. "Y-you live w-with them?" He asked, his voice shaking.

"Of course," Pan told him as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "They took me in when my mother died."

"How did your mother die?"

"A mob trampled her- 17 told me that he felt so bad about it, because she was trying to save me, so they took me in," Pan told him. "They still don't know who my father is."  
"T-then you're not lying?"

"Why would I lie?"  
"Then- you've been trained in their ways?"  
"Of course."  
"Then I can take my revenge on you?"

"If you must. 17, 18, and I are family. Whatever issue you have with them, you have with me," Pan told him. The man nodded slowly.

"Then I challenge you to defend you're "family's" honor as I defend mine," the man said, and Pan nodded her agreement.

He attacked first, swinging his sword at her. Pan easily knocked it out of his hands, and at the same time delivered a punch to his stomach. She was surprised and a bit disgusted when her hand went totally through; creating a fist-sized hole.

"I thought you were stronger," She said.

The man simply stared at her, his eyes widening and then he died. Pan walked over to the sword, picking it up and then beheaded the sword's master. She picked up the head and headed back home, her stomach a bit queasy about what she had just done.

***End of Flashback***

Pan growled under her breath, shaking the images of the first human she killed from her head. 17 had been less then happy when she brought the head home- sending her to her room, but later apologizing for his hasty actions. He let her come with them occasionally from then on, but Pan never received any satisfaction from killing the humans. She had seen 17's face though- he loved it, thrived on it.

"Pan?" Gohan asked. She looked up suddenly, realizing that her fists were clenched so tightly that blood was dribbling out of them. She relaxed almost immediately and assessed the damage she inflicted on herself.

"I'm sorry," She shook her head. "It's been a long day."  
"You're bleeding," Trunks said, a bit concerned. He reached over to touch Pan's hands, but she jerked them away.

"So I am," She said, pretending that she was studying them. "Oh well…it's nothing that won't heal in a few days. She wiped the blood from her hands on her gi, which had been colored a deep red so that she wouldn't stain it. Ever since she could remember, she injured herself like this by mistake. 17 and 18 had given up trying to get her to stop injuring herself years ago.

"It'll take longer then that," Gohan had reached over the table now, grabbing her hands a bit forcefully. "Why did you do that to yourself?"

Pan jerked her hands away and stood up so abruptly that her chair fell over. "It doesn't matter," She told them. "It's only a minor injury…an inconvenience- that's all!" Everyone stared at Pan, shocked by her behavior. Suddenly she relented, picking up her chair and apologizing.

"Tell us what's wrong Pan," Gohan urged her.

"You don't understand- none of you can possibly understand!"

"You might be surprised," Bulma said under her breath.

Pan took a deep breath, unwilling to alienate these people. "There are some things a person can never say- my past could very much be one of those things."

"That doesn't explain anything," Chi Chi said, joining into the conversation.

"If I told you anything- my first kill, the first time I defeated 17, the first time 18 got angry and hit me- none of these things you would understand," Pan sighed. "Even now you only see what I say from your point of view- not mine. By my standards I had a decent childhood- but by yours…"

"18 hit you?" Gohan said, his voice angry.

Pan sighed. "See? That's what I mean! 18 hitting me meant nothing. It was more of a sign of affection and that no matter how mad she was she did no worse then give me a nosebleed. I love 18 more dearly then any of you can imagine. I doubt any of you will ever understand what both 17 and 18 meant to me, but I can't hold that against you, because you don't have to view things as your enemy sees them."

She wasn't sure what they would do- if Gohan would be angry by her words, or if Bulma would kick her out of this house. But at the moment she didn't care. Her families' deaths were still fresh in her mind and she refused to try and be the perfect daughter to Gohan when he refused to acknowledge the fact that he killed her family. Of course, 18 had killed her family too, but it was hard for her to feel angry about it even with her nightmares.

***Flashback***

"Bitch," Pan cooed and let out a giggle. This woman could say the funniest things sometimes!

"What did you say?" Pan guessed that the 'bitch' didn't like what the woman said. She peered though whatever the woman had wrapped around her, trying to get a glimpse of the 'bitch.'

"…"

"You'll pay for that!" The 'bitch' hit the woman, knocking her through the air and Pan knew that the woman had let go of her. She landed a couple meters from the woman, but she could see the scene just fine.

A man stood in front of Pan, blocking her view. She cooed, trying to get his attention, and he turned his head for a moment, staring into Pan's face.

The woman chose that time to jump into the air screaming; "Panny," and the man just simply knocked her to the ground again. Pan could see that she was seriously injured this time, but she didn't quite understand what was happening.

The woman seemed to be unable to get up- flipping over so that she could crawl towards Pan. Pan wondered why the woman was so bent on getting to her.

The 'bitch' landed in front of the woman and the woman asked her to spare 'the baby's' life. Pan knew that the woman was referring to her, and wondered why this woman would want Pan to be spared. She sighed and watched the 'bitch' kill the woman, wondering what they would do to her now.

***End of Flashback***

Pan was visibly shaking now, new realization dawning on her. That was her mother- the woman who tried to protect her was her mother! She had never understood that before, always wondering why the woman was pleading with 18 to spare her.

"Pan?"

Pan shook her head, realizing that the whole situation was impossible. She turned to leave, telling them that she might be back someday, but she had to sort through a few things first.

Gohan understood, but everyone else seemed baffled.

***

Ugh! Finally I finished this chapter! It took me the whole week! Well, I paused for a few days of course because of what happened and all…but still it took sooooo long. I guess I'm just used to writing shorter chapters…but I hope some people still find this story interesting enough to read ten pages ^.^ I hope you know that I still plan for Trunks to go back into the past but someone goes with him…And remember that they still have Cell to deal with…so I hope that this chapter wasn't too boring (as always if you happen to think that this chapter was boring or stupid, please tell me! And I'm always open to suggestions, I know that I'll reread it in few days and will be mortified by all of my spelling mistakes and things like that. In fact, I revised the first chapter- there was a really bad paragraph in there that made no sense at all)… and thanks for reading ^_____^


	3. Reconciliation

~ Chapter Two: Reconciliation Author: EC-Chan Disclaimer: See chapter 1. AN: I'm so happy I found this!!!!!!!! *rubs back of head* ; So not only does my computer eat the first version of this chappy, I keep on writing REALLY crappy ones, but when I DO write a good one I save it on a disk and lose it;;;; *nods* Yup.. I think I've reached a new level of patheticness. Gomen people for taking so long;  
  
~  
  
"BLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP. Blep. Blep. Blep," Gohan rolled over wearily and knocked the appliance onto the floor. A moment later he sat up straight in his bed, the events from the day before knocking him out of his sleepy stupor.  
  
"Pan."  
  
Her name rolled off his tongue just as it had always meant to. How he always wanted it to. She was alive. His daughter was alive. That knowledge was enough to let him die in peace. But the second thought that came after that stripped away his happiness- he had pushed her away. Because of all the foolishness he had chosen to do.that day.  
  
"Gohan?" His head snapped in the direction of the voice when he realized that it wasn't his mothers, but someone else's. But then he forced himself to relax, wanting to hit himself on the head for being an idiot the second time that morning. It was Bulma. This was her house.  
  
He rolled his eyes at himself, feeling a bit more then pathetic. How could he have forgotten the events of last night? How Bulma had suggested that he and his unconscious mother stay here for the night? How he had asked for a drink and she had teased him about being so young.? How.they had both gotten drunk and had done.what? He couldn't remember.  
  
The events from the night before were a haze to him. The beginning was because of emotional reactions.but the second half was alcohol induced. He was such a pathetic sniveling poor excuse for a man. Why had his mother even thought that he could overcome half of his Saiyan genetics?  
  
"Oh for the love of Kami Gohan!" Bulma said threateningly. "Get out of bed and stop feeling sorry for yourself! What happened last night was the product of yesterday- don't worry about it. It was as much of my fault as yours."  
  
"."  
  
"Oh. Thinking about Pan then?" Bulma asked, grinning cheerfully at him. He glared back at her and she giggled, "Don't think that you intimidate me Son Gohan. After all, I've lived with Vegeta and bore his son. No one can be worse then him!"  
  
A grunt.  
  
"Now you're trying to imitate him," Bulma frowned, and then grinned, throaty laughter escaping from her mouth. After a moment she quieted. "Don't worry about Pan. She'll come around."  
  
"How do you know?" Gohan frowned, even to himself sounding like an overgrown child. Of course that was all that he probably was..considering well, everything. He groaned, for the first time wishing that it was possible for a demi-Saiyan to have a hangover.  
  
He frowned when he felt Bulma sit beside him, when he said nothing she rested her head on his shoulder. Preoccupied by the sudden closeness, he almost missed her softly whispered answer, "Because she has to."  
  
~  
  
Pan shivered, refusing to power up and consequently allowing those..those people to be able to find her. They were horrible! Awful! She frowned, clutching herself in an attempt to get warmer, continuing to stumble through the forest. Her teeth chattered, and she cursed herself for letting that man kill 17 and 18. They would have died for her. And she repaid them with a moment of cowardice, running away!  
  
She had been walking since the night before, after blasting away from the place, and hoped to get to her home by the end of the day. But she hadn't counted on the warm weather turning cold. Or at least not THIS cold. And what made it worse was that she couldn't power up. At all.  
  
At first she had made good time, concentrating on moving as quickly as possible, any way possible, but her pace grew slower each step until now she was walking half blindly, only her outrage and confused emotions giving her power to take one more step forward. She would die soon. On some level of her mind she knew that. With a lowered power level she was as susceptible to the cool air as any human and eventually the last droplet of her strength would give out and she would be forced to lie on the cold hard ground and welcome death.  
  
She knew this. Oh she knew this. That was the point. If she died before she got home then it was fine- she would be with 17 and 18 again and then everything would be perfectly fine. Except that she was dead of course. If she somehow made it back then she would live on. She would get revenge- after all, that was really all she had left to live for at the moment. Revenge.  
  
She saw Trunks' concerned face, his eyes pleading with her to give her father a chance. She saw those eyes fill with longing when he spoke of wishing to be Gohan's son. She saw Bulma standing up and sacrificing her seat- and then her mumbling something that she hadn't quite caught, her face in a comically dry expression. And finally she saw him. Her father. First his surprise and then happiness of finding her existence, then his concern, and then, finally, his understanding. And understanding she didn't think he could possibly have.  
  
She frowned at the memories. Frowned at the fact that she was loosing the feeling in her toes, that her legs were beginning to go numb with the cold. Frowned at the fact that even as she fell down she saw Trunks' concerned face looked at her, pleading with her to give this all a chance. And then, as darkness consumed her, she saw her grandmother's angry face, her stance that forced her to take a second look. The determination to be angry she wished she could have.  
  
~  
  
She woke up in a bed, white sheets and several heavy blankets weighing her down. Groaning, she attempted to push them off, but was unable to. She opened her eyes, panicking, and immediately was met with light blue.  
  
"You're awake," Trunks breathed, his face slowly beaming with a smile. He turned, "Mom! She's awake!"  
  
"Ah! Finally," Bulma appeared behind Trunks, pushing him out of the way and feeling Pan's forehead. "How do you feel dear?"  
  
"What's going on?" Pan asked, her face blank. How had she gotten back here? Had someone been following her? Trunks maybe?  
  
"I found you," Trunks said. "You were unconscious so I brought you back here- you've been out for almost a week!"  
  
"A week," Pan blinked. It had been that long?  
  
"You're lucky you chose to pass out in the middle of Trunks' 'thinking place,'" Bulma said, her voice neutral. "You were nearly dead when he found you. Why didn't you power up?"  
  
"I wanted to get away," Pan said, turning her head so that she couldn't see them. "I couldn't unless my ki was lowered."  
  
"You nearly died," Bulma frowned. "You knew you were, yet you didn't bother to save yourself?"  
  
Pan was silent, the answer was self-evident, or at least the answer she knew this woman would or had already concluded was. Her real reason for staying silent though, was that she refused to explain herself to them, she had no reason to.  
  
"Mom- can I talk to her for a moment while you get Gohan?" Trunks asked. After a short pause, Bulma turned and left, leaving the duo alone. "You know I was following you?"  
  
"Not at the time," Pan said, her head still facing the wall. After a moment she turned towards him, "Why?"  
  
"Why?" Trunks blinked at her question.  
  
"Why did you follow me?"  
  
"Because..I wanted to make sure you would be alright," Trunks shrugged, blushing slightly. She was silent, waiting for him to continue. "I feel..sort of like we have a link, you know?"  
  
She shook her head- how could she have a "link" with someone who hated 17? How could she understand him?  
  
His blush deepened with her bewilderment, "I mean- I never knew my father and my mom, no disrespect to her, isn't that great of a..mother. I know what it's like to yearn to know about my father..I know what it's like to wonder about my origin. If my mother was killed..then I know I'd feel the same as you probably do right now."  
  
"And what do I feel right now?"  
  
"Lost..confused," Trunks said softly, reflectively. "Hell- I would have done the same thing- take a long walk, filled with rage, and then watch everything slowly fade to blackness. Except that I would have fainted a lot sooner then you. But the difference between me and you is that Gohan would find me- I would KNOW he would find me and make everything better. Or at least as "better" as things could get."  
  
"You thought through all that?" Pan asked blankly.  
  
Trunks rubbed the back of his head, "I had a lot of time on my hands while I was tracking you!"  
  
Pan allowed herself to smile, but said nothing. Trunks paused, blushing even more furiously, making Pan's smile all the more bigger. Gohan cleared his throat and both heads shot up towards the newcomer, even Pan blushed slightly this time as if she were caught in some heinous act.  
  
"Sorry to interrupt you two, but I'd like to have a word with Pan," Trunks nodded, and hurried out of the room, leaving Pan to face her newfound father by herself. He sank into the chair Trunks' had just vacated, and for the first time Pan realized how close the boy had been. It had seemed a comfortable distance before, but now that there was someone else sitting in front of her, especially a man she did not trust completely- or even partially, it was far too close. He smiled hesitantly, "You two seem to be getting along."  
  
Pan said nothing and Gohan sighed.  
  
"There's nothing I can do to make up for everything that has happened to you..everything that I have unthinkingly or unknowingly inflicted," Gohan said, looking into his lap. "I won't ask you to forgive me. I don't expect you to. Ever. I can only hope that you'll agree to stay here and allow me to attempt to be somewhat of a father."  
  
Pan trembled, suddenly incredibly cold again. It was like she was back in the forest, shivering and refusing to power up. She remembered what she had seen and felt before she had passed out and looked away from this man who called himself her father. With a resigned sigh she agreed, "I'll try."  
  
They were silent for a moment, and then to her surprise he began to speak, "I suppose what we can call our history began with my father, your grandfather, Gokou."  
  
~  
  
Seven Years Later  
  
~  
  
"Pan!" Trunks screamed, racing through the corridors of Capsule Corps. 'Where is that little brat? Arg! When I find her.!' Cursing blindly in rage, he burst through the kitchen doors nearly barreling into his mother, before catching himself and stumbling backwards.  
  
"And what might you be doing?" Bulma raised a manicured eyebrow in amusement.  
  
"Do you know where Pan is?" Trunks asked, breathing heavily from his rage more then the fact that he had just been running. "She stole my sword. AGAIN."  
  
"Did you check the gravity room?" Bulma suggested mildly, turning back to her cooking.  
  
"Of course!"  
  
"You don't have to snap dear," Bulma frowned at him. "She probably went to find Gohan in the woods."  
  
Trunks gritted his teeth, "She KNOWS that she's not supposed to interrupt Gohan this weekend, she wouldn't go there. She has to be somewhere close. Why did Gohan insist on teaching her to hide her ki?"  
  
"So she wouldn't nearly die or have you forgotten?" Bulma questioned absentmindedly. "And she asked Gohan before he left if she could visit him- something about wanting to set things as right as possible. I don't think you should bother them at the moment, anyway."  
  
"But she has MY sword," Trunks whined. "Can't I go- just to take it back."  
  
Bulma frowned, her expression growing blank. "I'm sorry Trunks- you know how Gohan gets on the anniversary of his father's and the others' deaths. If Pan took your sword again then you'll get it back eventually."  
  
"You never discipline her," Trunks crossed his arms. Although he was beginning to feel extremely childish, he couldn't help it. This ALWAYS happened! Pan could get away with everything simply because they didn't know what her reaction to their discipline would be. It wasn't fair, especially since they punished him with rigor. Yes, even Gohan, his STEP- father. If the situation was reversed then he KNEW that they would sit him down and not only have a "talk," but Bulma would send him and Gohan into the gravity chamber so the Gohan could give him a "proper" punishment. "You could at least ask her not to touch my things!"  
  
"I'm sorry honey, but that's not my decision to make," Bulma sighed.  
  
"I don't understand," Trunks gritted his teeth. "You let Gohan decide what to do with me- why won't he let you help with Pan? You're HER step-mother."  
  
"Pan's case is different, you know that," She frowned. "But I'll tell you what- I'll talk to Gohan about it, okay?"  
  
Trunks sighed knowing this was the best he was going to get, "Okay."  
  
"Just make sure she's gone," Bulma waved him away. "I need to know if I should set another place."  
  
~  
  
A few hundred miles away Son Pan trudged solemnly through the forest, dragging the large sword uncaringly behind her. It had taken her a few years, but she had finally come to understand these Earthlings and their odd ways..most of them. And it wasn't simply that- she had come to think of a strange man as her father, and Bulma as a mother. She had learned to forgive them all for 17 and 18s' deaths. It was well past time that she accompanied her father to his weekend in mourning.  
  
He hadn't understood when she had asked him to allow her to invade his privacy, but he had agreed anyway as long as she only came for part of the trip. She had agreed, eager to accept any of his conditions. It had been overly nice of him to let her come. She understood what this time meant for him, yet she had to come at least this one time- to apologize for her other parent's actions. 17 and 18's.  
  
She saw him a little ways away, bowing to an oddly shaped dinosaur. It reached its long neck to her father and nudged him with its head. Gohan smiled, said something that sounded soothing to it and turned to Pan, nodding to her.  
  
She nodded back, echoing both his grave expression and stance. The dinosaur turned its head towards Pan, and she recognized it from one of her father's more lighthearted stories- Icarus. She bowed to it respectfully, noticing that it too was grieving, trying to take some of Gohan's grief for his own. She smiled slightly, wondering how 17 could ever mock such bonds of friendship.  
  
"It's this way," Gohan spoke softly, and then turned around and began walking, Icarus following him by his side. Pan hurried to catch up and then walked at a slower pace, allowing him room to lead the way.  
  
~  
  
"Will they be visiting Chi Chi on their way back?" Trunks asked, pausing his efforts of cramming as much food into his face as possible to wait for his mother's answer.  
  
She smiled, "Not this time. She said that she wanted to visit here."  
  
"So she'll be arriving tomorrow?" Trunks frowned.  
  
"Yes, I suppose," Bulma smiled faintly. "Why so curious?"  
  
"I just have something I want to show you before then," Trunks smiled and then returned his attention to his plate.  
  
Bulma frowned at her son, wondering what was wrong. First he acted like he was fourteen years old again, complaining about the fact that not only was he expected to help Pan adjust to being a human, but accept Gohan as a father- something he had never considered to be a possible dream, and now he was acting like he had some big secret.  
  
She studied him for a moment as he ate, wondering where the last seven years had gone to. Although she had never really thought about it before now, she realized that the only reason why he was still living in Capsule Corps and hadn't already settled down with one of the last few woman, was because she needed him here to help her.  
  
Over the last few years she, Gohan, and Trunks had been going over plan after plan to get Earth back on her feet. This planet was dying and until this day they still hadn't come up with a feasible plan to save it. Even Pan had been helping then during the last year or so, and no one had the heart to ask why. Not even Trunks. They didn't want to know her answer.  
  
During the first few weeks she had gathered all of the food she could afford to go without, prepared it, and sent Gohan and Trunks to feed it to anyone who seemed to need it. They had come back exhausted and furious, their old anger returning when they surveyed the effects of the androids.  
  
Bulma had immediately changed tactics, knowing that Pan wouldn't understand why they were upset with 17 and 18 again- in her mind they were blameless. She set out a radio signal, informing everyone that if they needed aid, then they could be assisted at Capsule Corps to the best of it's abilities. They came in hundreds at first, running out all of her supplies.  
  
Pan helped dress wounds and amputate limbs with a clear mind, but the others could barely hold their stomachs at the sight of such injuries. But the mobs only lasted a few weeks and then the four-some were left to themselves. It was only after that first year that they realized that the planet wasn't getting any better. Any greener. In fact everything seemed to be growing browner. Hotter.  
  
And then Bulma realized what was wrong- the Earth's core had somehow become unstable and deteriorating, whether this was because of the androids or for some other reason she did not know, and it was being pulled slowly into the sun. She wasn't sure what would happen first- whether the Earth would become too hot to survive on or its core would explode.  
  
The worst part was that she could do nothing about it- there was o way to stabalize it again. No way that she would allow herself to abandon all of these people on the planet to seek refugee somewhere else. No way that anyone would believe her if she told them why what was left of the tribes in the desert seemed to vanish in it's hot thick air.  
  
"Mom?" Trunks question, waving his hand in front of her face. "Mom- are you okay?"  
  
She studied her son's worried face for a moment, remembering how she had gotten on such a disparaging train of thought. "I'm fine Trunks. What was it that you wanted to show me?"  
  
Trunks handed his plate to one of the robot's, and then lifted Bulma's. She nodded her permission and he dutifully handed hers over as well. The robot scurried out of the room and Trunks stood up, "It's in your laboratory."  
  
"My laboratory," Bulma blinked, frowning. "And why were you in my laboratory in the first place?"  
  
"Finishing something you started and then forgot about," Trunks told her. She frowned at him, but was curious. They walked in silence to her laboratory, Trunks opening the door for her, and she shuffled in looking around. Nothing seemed out of place- in fact, nothing seemed any different from when she last left it. She turned questioningly to Trunks. "The time machine."  
  
She started, her eyes widening, and then her eyes shot towards the machine. It had been so long since she had last though about it. So long since she had decided that it wasn't needed. "Why?"  
  
"It's the only way," Trunks said softly. "You know it- I know it. There's no reason for everyone to die period, when we can go back and create a better future. You were willing to when the androids threatened our entire existence, so why not now?"  
  
Bulma stared at her soon. He had a valid point. A very valid point. "But why not discuss it with us first?"  
  
"I didn't know if it was necessary at first," Trunks admitted. "And I knew that this would be a last resort for you and by then it would be too late."  
  
Bulma sighed, and then glared at him in defeat, "Does Pan know about this?"  
  
"Yeah- it would've been pretty hard to keep it from her," He said, rubbing the back of his head.  
  
"Don't think you're getting off this easy," Bulma warned him, her eyes absentmindedly roaming the time machine. He had done a good job of concealing this project of his- hell more then a good job. She hadn't noticed it had she? In fact, now that she looked at it closely she could only see the barest details modified on the outside and they were definitely changes she doubted no one would notice unless they KNEW they were there. "But..I think you just might be right."  
  
~  
  
Pan knelt next to Gohan, following his example and closing her eyes. She didn't know what she had been expecting, but it certainly had not been the rubble of a once-proud city. If she had no purpose for following Gohan here then she would have been slightly confused by this whole situation. But at the moment she couldn't allow herself to be confused.  
  
She bowed her head, and with a deep breath began to speak, "I have come here on the behalf of 17 and 18. They raised me until the day they died, and therefore I have the burden of every wrong they have ever committed on my own back and wish to make what little atonement I can."  
  
She took a deep breath to continue, but Gohan stopped her, placing his hand over her mouth, "They've already forgiven you."  
  
"How? Why?" Pan asked, surprised.  
  
He smiled down at her, "Haven't I told you enough about them? You should know why."  
  
Pan frowned, but said nothing. For a long moment there was silence and then Gohan pulled his daughter to his side, she leaned her head on him.  
  
"I wish..I could have met them," She said slowly. "I remember my mother..I remember," Her eyes glazed over as she saw the woman's death again. Her mother's death. Gohan kissed the top of her head.  
  
"Let's go back a day early, okay?" He said, smiling down at her. After a moment she nodded and they stood up in unison. Gohan turned away from the scene, waiting for Pan to follow suit.  
  
She stood there for a moment more, and then turned to her father, "Why did you let me come then?"  
  
"Why did you bring Trunks' sword?" Gohan smiled.  
  
She frowned at him, "Fine. It doesn't matter much anyway."  
  
"You really should stop stealing Trunks' sword though," Gohan frowned at her.  
  
Pan sighed and nodded, "It won't happen again father."  
  
He smiled.  
  
~ Pan walked beside her father, Trunks' sword awkwardly in her hand. He would not allow her to drag it behind her in such a disrespectful fashion, and therefore she was now swinging it back and forth in front of her, trying to imitate some of the moves she had seen Trunks make in the past.  
  
Gohan said nothing on the long walk back, still thinking about his friends and then what Pan had just tried to do. Was she about to commit suicide when he stopped her? Or..what? She wouldn't kill herself, right? She had long since left that phase..right? He frowned, unable to find his answer.  
  
"Dad- what's that?" Pan paused her sword work and pointed to a clearing where something a few different shades of green was crouched over. Gohan had to admit that it blended so well into the forest that he wouldn't have seen it if Pan hadn't pointed it out. Now he stared quizzically at it.  
  
"I don't know," He shook his head, but was determined to find out. He stalked over to the green..thing, Pan following close behind. When they grew closer he saw that it was indeed a being and it seemed to be crouched over..a human? He watched, eyes transfixed, as the human under the being's face began to sag horribly, turning into putty. And then the being stood up, revealing that the human was indeed only skin now and its tail unplucked itself from...it.  
  
Gohan stood in horror at the sight he had just seen. Had that..thing just sucked out the insides with his TAIL?! He didn't have any time to wonder more as the thing turned to him, eying the duo with a calculation that almost made Gohan quiver. Almost.  
  
"Pan," He said softly, getting his daughter's complete attention quickly. "I want you to go and tell Bulma and Trunks about this thing."  
  
"What?" Pan asked, confused. "But you may need my help!"  
  
"Just go," Gohan commanded. She was still rooted to her spot, anger coursing through her features. "If you hurry you might get back in time."  
  
She blinked, sighed, and then with a burst of speed flew off. Gohan watched her go and then turned back to the thing.. "Who are you?"  
  
"Cell," It's voice was deep and had hidden laughter behind it.  
  
~  
  
Pan sped through the air, upset that her father had sent her away so that he could fight the thing by himself. And what made her seethe the most was that she knew, by the fact that he had wanted her to warn the others about this thing, that he was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to beat this thing. And he still wouldn't let her stay and help.  
  
She fumed silently in rage all the way back to Capsule Corps, and when she landed she wasted no time in charging into the living room, where she had felt both of their kis.  
  
"Gohan's fighting this evil green thing that can suck everything out of people, only leaving their skin," the words came out of Pan's mouth in a tumble. The mother and son blinked at her, completely taken aback by both her abrupt and what she had just said.  
  
"Pan what-," Trunks started, but she cut him off.  
  
"Sorry for taking your sword- won't happen again," She said quickly, chucking the sword at him which he caught deftly. She bowed to them, turned and ran away, feet pounding after her. The duo left behind blinked at her hasty entrance and departure.  
  
"Pan- wait up!" Trunks cried, hurriedly placing his sword back in its sheath (which he had put on earlier out of habit), and raced after her, leaving his mother in his wake. Bulma sighed, not exactly understanding what was going on.  
  
~  
  
Hopefully I can get the next chappy up sometime soon. Gomen again for taking so long!; And as much as I hate to admit it- this will probably turn out as a t/p. -.-; But it figures that when I complain to someone about loosing this chapter I find it.; *rubs back of head*  
  
Go to my website! http://www32.brinkster.com/ahoc/ahoc.html  
  
~ 


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